Normally, I pack in a box. I remove the rear mech, brake calipers and disc rotors. Just bought an Evoc bike bag ready for the summer. Just wonder if I should continue with my current practice or should I put a little more faith in the bag?

Thoughts?

hehe – clicked on that to recommend the EVOC. pack so you're happy to throw down the stairs.

So, good buy not quite good enough to cure my paranoia?

Continue current practice. Flown with a bike bag a few times and the only time I couldn't be bothered taking off the rotors, one got bent. Wasn't too bad and thankfully on my way home but lesson learnt. Never taken brake calipers off but usually cover them with foam pipe protectors.

Guess it makes sense and will only take ten minutes extra either end.

any of the morning crown have any bag/box experiences to share? Anyone used an Evoc much yet?

I've got a Brand-X bike bag that I've used twice to go over to Spain with (and it'll be used again in July).
I go a bit over the top i think, with the packaging, but would rather too much than not enough.

I take the rear mech off, discs off the wheels, handlebar off & tape to frame, wrap the whole thing in a combo of bubble wrap, pipe lagging etc. Pedals also come off, and I tape one crank arm to a chainstay to keep the cranks level. I've bodged a large block of foam that sits under the BB and shrouds the bottom of the chainrings to stop the outer getting mangled.

I've got a bike box from Halfords that I've cut down to fit into the bag as a fairly rigid liner.

One of my mates has got the same bag and another has got the CRC bag, which is also the same, but branded differently & none of us have had any bike damage over several trips.

The more you can do the protect things, the less chance you'll have that something is broken. Take the extra time to do it right, and you'll avoid the extra expense.

Used to fly with a bike bag, with padding, but got a box from the LBS and went to town on it with Gaffa tape, Covered the thing. now its rigid, waterproof, unique (due to the design i did with tape) and only cost £5 (tape)

I remove rear mech but not calipers.

A mate swears by just using one layer of clear plastic around his bike. Wheels off, stem off, ziptie to frame, wrap. You end up with something that looks as fragile as it is, and with nothing for baggage handlers to grab and throw it with. As it's an awkward shape rather than a nice slim flat-sided one, it's more likely to go on last rather than end up with things piled on top.

We took our bikes abroad for the first time last year. We rented a couple of bags from our LBS (can't justify buying our own for just a week a year).

We were pretty cautious. Removed mech/hanger and wrapped/tied into rear triangle, removed calipers and wrapped/tied out the way, removed discs + put in suitcase and removed pedals plus all the usual things you're supposed to do.

Everything was fine, there and back.

Used a bag – did all of the above each time but last year got damaged – will be using lbs box next time (Tape thing sounds a good idea.)

The EVOC bag is pretty well padded and has a reinforced area where the discs would sit but personally I'd still take them off as it's only a minor hassle. I normally take the mech-hanger off (rather than mech itself) but wouldn't bother with the brake calipers.

people take the piss out of the amount of packaging and wrapping i do. (last time was 2 rolls of tape and loads of pipe lagging, cardboard etc etc)

but i can't imagine how pissed off i'd be if i arrived and my biggest expediture of the year (week in the alps/spain etc) was runined cos my bike was broken and i couldn't get a spare?

The more I look at these Evoc bags, the more impressed I am. Looking at it last night, it looks like the rear much is really well protected. If that got damaged, I think you'd have bigger issues!

Keep finding new bits of it that really impress me.

hiya

The EVOC bag is pretty well padded

I received this advice years ago and it's always worked for me: if you would happily throw the packaged bike out of a first floor window, it's sufficiently protected. If you would then jump out of the window on to it, so much the better.

I love baggage handlers 👿

Make sure you let the air out of your tyres, or the 'plane will crash.

Does the pilot do the same?

insurance and pray if it does get broken it happens on the return jorney 😥

While I'd recommend all of the tips above, it's worth mentioning that we've never had a single guest whose bike has been damaged in transit.

(damaged later in the week, yes…. 😆 )

See, if I break it while I'm there, I can live with that, it's part of what we do. Having it broken by some negligent Muppet would put a real downer on my trip.

been flying bikes at least once a year for the last 10, and ive got moe paranoid as years (and various niggles have occurred) so like other respondents mine goes in a bike bag after being wrapped in bubble wrap and cardboard, and the cranks, bars, rear mech, chain and brake discs all come off.

got a planet X bag which is pretty hefty (and is similar to bags sold under a variety of names) and we've just bought a merlin bag which is a lot thinner and a bit more basic (pouches for wheels not zip shut pockets) and will be reinforced with mucho cardboard.

some airlines specify the bike has to be boxed- we got caught out a few years ago by easyjet who had (it turned out) recently changed their terms when we arrived at luton with bare bikes, and ended up getting a taxi to halfords and blagging some bike boxes…

I had padding, bike box inside bag and they still dented my old 5 spot. Would like a hard case now.

Hard case all the way here for the simple reason i'd rather pay a bit of xs baggage and ride my own bike than end up with something squashed which has happened before (very well packed and stripped bike in cardboard box inside a GE body bag – had had what looked like 2 tonnes of weight on it and everything squashed). I use a Serfas hard case and Tallboy + case = 23.5kg.

I've got a Sci-con box. Expensive but light(18kg including my 7kg bike), strong and the wheels make it so easy to get it around. Its also useful for sitting on when queuing at checkin. It is a bit tall so bit of a squeeze getting it through some airport scanners. It's also made of a repairable plastic so all is not lost if it splits. Very pleased with it!

Tis all wrong these days…

I rode to Liverpool airport, let my tyres down a bit, handed the bike over, collected it at Palma, blew up the tyres again and rode ut of the airport to the hotel, cost nothing.

That was Easyjet in 1992 for the Masters tour of Majorca…

Compare that to now, going to Malaga with Ciclo Montana, basically dismantled the **** thing and armour plated it…and paid £60.